Fragments of His Being | ✓

CHAPTER FOUR

Quinn was at the basketball court late after the game had ended. Cody had not come this afternoon. At first, Quinn had wanted to leave with his friends, but something in him compelled him to stay. Maybe Cody was late today and would still drop by.

Dummy. Quinn scolded himself in his head as he kept making baskets as he walks about the court thinking to himself. He wondered why he was so worried that Cody hadn't come to watch them today. He wondered why he cared so much, but nothing could answer his questions. The trees growing around the fenced-off court had left leaves on the clay surface, and the scorching hot sun had retreated into the clouds to allow for a cool blue-washed. The dimness meant it was harder to make baskets, and Quinn had to squint whenever he threw the ball from a good distance away.

As Quinn bounced the ball and moved around the court, his mind moved to Lindsey. What to do. He wondered as he tried to come up with the kindest way possible to turn her down. Lindsey wasn't like the other girls that had come up to him before. She would make some noise and draw attention to herself if she was rejected.

The sound of the court gates rattling pull Quinn out of his thoughts. He holds on to the basketball and turns on his heels to face the aluminum gates.

"Oh, it's you." Quinn tried to make his voice come off as uninterested, but some of his excitement at seeing Cody had snuck in, making his voice higher. He smiled, staring at the lean boy who pushed the gates open before stepping into the court.

"You're here alone again," Cody said to Quinn, making him shrug his shoulders. Quinn turned around, throwing the ball in his hands before watching it pass through the hoop. The ball bounces about when it hits the clay ground before rolling over to Quinn who picks it up.

"And you're still being a peeping Tom. Nothing's quite new, is it?" Quinn said, laughing to himself.

Cody walks into Quinn's view, and this time he was smiling at Quinn's joke. The two boys didn't say anything, and the sound of the ball hitting the clay floor as Quinn made it bounce on the spot was the only sound drowning the background.

"So, do you play?" Quinn asked after a while.

"No, but I can try," Cody said, looking over at Quinn. The darker boy takes a few steps back, making Cody raise a brown at him.

Okay then, give it a shot," Quinn said, throwing the ball at Cody before the boy could ask any questions.

"Ah, fuck. I told you I could try, not that I could," Cody said, jumping away from the ball before heading over to pick it up. Quinn found himself fixated on the fact the boy had cursed. For some reason, he hadn't pinned him as one to do that.

"Throw it back," Quinn said, gesturing to himself, and Cody did just that. Quin caught the ball, before rolling it between his hands. "Let's bounce it back and forth," he said as he tossed the ball to the ground, making it bounce off the clay floor before heading for Cody. The boy caught it this time, and soon they had formed a nice back and forth pass.

The sound of the ball bouncing on the clay floor echoed through the court as the boys remained silent.

Quinn felt the need to talk, so he started a conversation. "So, why are you always here?" he asked, letting out the question he'd had in his head for the past two months.

Cody shrugged, passing the ball. "I don't know. I randomly left home and kind of found you guys playing basketball after a while of wandering. I liked watching, so I just come here to watch you guys now to ease my boredom if that makes sense."

"I see," Quinn said.

Cody let out a low sigh. "I don't like being at home, really."

"Why?" Quinn asked with a frown before holding on to the ball and stopping the game of pass.